Last week in one of his chats ESPN analyst David Thorpe had the following exchange:

John (Houston)

Follow up to the Heat announcer being your favorite, which other local crews are in your top 5?
David Thorpe (12:47 PM)

I liked the guys from Memphis, folksy but fun and smart. Did they change color guys? Lakers crew always so professional. Utah's too. Magic guys are very good too.
David Thorpe (12:48 PM)

Oh, and the guys from Minny are improving and actually pretty good.

kshiz (Chicago)

Please say Tommy Points!!!
David Thorpe (12:50 PM)

"I'm an idiot"

Ugh. Homer points is more like it. Celts and Spurs have terrific organizations, but their tv guys are not remotely objective or particularly informed.

Um, call Tommy a homer all you like, but "not particularly informed?" Tommy has more knowledge in his left pinkie than this ESPN numb nuts has entirely. And Mike Gorman? Mike Gorman is the best play by play man in basketball and in my opinion all sports. I do think Gorman has gotten more biased throughout the years, but he's not a national announcer. He's supposed to be biased. He also is more informed than any other local announcer I've heard. In fact after all these years around the NBA, he could even be a color man in my opinion.

Every day ESPN gets worse and worse and they keep hiring more uninformed douches and labeling them "analysts" or "experts." You can label your employees whatever you like, but there's some saying about lipstick and pigs that comes to mind.

22 Responses so far.

Don't have a particularly strong opinion either way on Gorman (he's fine), and while Tommy is the most unabashed homer I think I've ever heard in the booth, I get why he is that way (he's been with the C's for half a century!), he absolutely knows the game and is pretty entertaining to listen to. And I'm a Laker fan!

Plus, all of these opinions are void. These idiots think the Miami Heat announcers are good??

What an idiot. He must be a Flaker fan.Even though Tommy is a homer, and biased, and thinks the Celtics never commit a foul, its still fun to listen to him broadcast with Mike!The worst local broadcasters areGrizzles Heat - they hate the C's, so i hate them :DCavs (especially-play by play guys gets excited about EVERY play) MavsATL (that stupid white guy with Dominique is an idiot) Toronto (play by play guy-his voice is super annoying).I hate those broadcasters more than ANY other team!

The Heat guys give too many obscure stats that no one gives a shit about (like 74 straight games Wade has taken a 3 pointer).

The Cavs are pretty much known to be the worst. The Raptors guy sounds like he's taking a shit when he gets excited for average plays in the 2nd quarter; so they suck also. The Suns tandem, whoever the clown is with Scott Williams for like their road games, is also horrendous. And yes that stupid white guy with Dominique for the Hawks game is a bozo lol.

I agree Mike Gorman is the most well-informed announcer in the NBA. Listen to Mike Tirico on MSG if you've never had that pleasure to hear someone whose head is WAY up his ass! Ian Eagle is right up there with Mike as far as I'm concerned regarding being knowledgeable. He knows his stuff and is like a younger version of Mike.

I have had the misfortune to have to listen to the Cavs announcers twice already this season and not only do they make Tommy and Mike seem unbiased but talk about crappiness! Everytime, every single time JJ Hickson blocked a shot their commentator screamed "Get that weak stuff out of here!". Doesn't he know less pathetic way to comment on a block? If you were about to ask he shouted that sentence out twice, once per game because Hickson had two blocks worthy mentioning.

HAHAHAHA!! (@Jenda)That guy is retarded and he sounds stupid! 'Get that weak stuff outta here!' haha! I wonder what he said when JJ Hickson got dunked on by James Harden the other night!!

Another thing about the Cavs, THEIR FUCKING PA ANNOUNCER IS ANNOYING! ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CAVS HIT A THREE-'THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' that shit isnt even necessary. Im glad Shaq and LeBron arent there anymore cause it was annoying hearing him say their names when they hit shots! 'LeeBBBBBBrroooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnn - huge pause - JJJaaaMMMMMEEEEsssssssssssssssssssss!' And'SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHauquille - huge pause - OOOOO'nnnnnnnEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAllllll'

I hate anything ESPN has to offer NBA wise. Maybe Jon Berry. Mike Trico was a nice change of pace for a nationally covered game. Did somebody say Mike Breen was a good play by play guy??? The F'er is the biggest Celtic basher out there (knicks play by play) and he makes no attempt to hide it. Stu Scott lost me during the finals last season when he had to be surgically remove from Kobes nuts after game 7. M&T are great. they don't try to be what they are not and they are fans of the team just like we are, and thats what local announcers should be...not like these hired F'ing hands that just do it for the paycheck.

@ Anon -the comment aboveI like Mike Breen. When he does Celtics games on ESPN and in the Playoffs/Finals he surely didnt sound like he was bashing the Celtics. He seemed to be more excited about every play the Celtics made.

Some ex of when Breen got excited in the Playoffs last year:-In the Finals when Rondo jumped over every Laker that was boxing out and he tipped in Pierce missed 3pointer.-Rondo 'famous steal' from J.Will in the Conference Finals.-When Ray was knocking down 3 after 3 in Game 2 of the Finals.-That inbound play in the Finals when Pierce fell out of bounds and threw the ball to Rondo for the layup (i think that was game 4 or 5)

Everyone knows Tommy is a huge homer but Mike Gorman is defintely one of the best play by play guys out there. He must have meant just Tommy and just that they weren't objective but these are hometown crews not national. Objectivity isn't key.

David Thorpe is not even an analyst or writer. He is a freaking athletic trainer. He has had a grudge against the Celtics ever since they cut one of his clients, Orien Greene, back in 2006. Just Google "Pro Training Center Clearwater, Florida". The guy's opinion is worthless.

Thorpe's comments are irrelevant. He's a trainer who doesn't need to be read. Anon must be a Jackson fan because the second time I heard "Mama there goes that man" was already too many and now we are in the thousands. Plus Mark doesn't try to hide the fact he wants to have Kobe's love child. Breen is Dick Stockton 2.0 and he does have an anti-Celtic bias - if there was the technology to mute the broadcasting crew and keep the crowd and live sounds I would use it for ESPN.

Jenda and other anon are right about the stupid Cavs announcer, Austin Carr. He used to scream "L train" everytime James plowed to the basket. And you are right, Anon ,about their PA - do we need NBA games to sound like the And1 Mixtape tour?

ESPN is the biggest pile of shit in general. I no longer read their site (I read Yahoo sports for my NBA info) and deleted it from my favorites. The site is infested with Flaker trolls and people who are the complete opposite of intelligent when it comes to making predictions. JA Adande? Abbott? Broussard? They all SUCK and don't know any more than any of the writers on this site (despite what Norman might have to say).

If it was Otis Thorpe that made this comment it would've gotten my attention much more so than this schmuck. Classify him with the aforementioned pea brains that ESPN employs.

Celticslife should have some sort of contest for the winner of the best acronym of what E-S-P-N should stand for, wins a t-shirt lol.

What a joke of a comment. Home town announcers are supposed to be biased and "homers". To say that Mike Gorman is not informed is an ignorant statement. Easily one of the top five play by play guys in basketball. Tom Heinsohn is a hall of fame player and coach, and for quite a while he was the cbs color man for the NBA finals. Another absolute joke out of ESPN.

Haha! The ESPN team of Breen, Jackson, and Van Gundy are terrible!!! Hahaha! Holy cow, man! You are insane! Breen is a wretch, Jackson is a melodramatic wiener, and Van Gundy, who's occasionally pretty funny, is more of a gnat half the time.

As for Mike and Tommy, quick story: Halftime of a game in 2006 - I walked down to the outskirts of the player tunnel with Tommy's book "Give'em the Hook" in hand...I couldn't find Tommy, but Mike walked by. A swarm of morons yelled for his autograph, and coolly, Mike smiled and waved and continued on his way towards the tunnel. Under this din of dimwits, I asked "Mr. Gorman?" and instantly, he strolled over with his hand out-stretched. We shook hands and I asked him if it would be possible to have himself and Tommy sign the book...from far off, he spied Tommy talking in the tunnel. Suffice to say, Mike walked over to Tommy to get me his autograph and I was completely blown away...Mike even almost forgot to sign the book, too! Of course, I reminded him and he, even after doing me such a solid, appeared flattered that I wanted his signature. Tommy is a legend, but Mike, rather, Mr. Gorman, is an absolute gentleman.

It's not that ESPN sells controversy, so much as it promotes this ridiculous notion that if you aren't a completely impartial, unemotional observer, then you're obviously an uninformed "Homer" who knows nothing about the sport. As if there is something wrong with people who root for a specific team, and worse, when it's their local team.

It's disgusting. But the worst part is they've now got a whole generation under their belt of non-regional, impartial, fantasy league nerds and sports betting fiends to show for it. They've cultivated an entire generation of kids who grew up being told to root for the under, and cheer for Free Agency. "Don't root for your home team kid, it makes you look like a dumb mook."

Friggin' hacks. The lot of them. Apparently these dopes forgot that Tommy called NATIONAL games on NATIONAL TV for many years with Dick Stockton. He came to Boston because he played here, and loves it here. But he's just as capable of being a boring, impartial, uninterested talking head like the rest of them. He just CHOSE not to be a boring hack, because it's fake and uninspiring.

I have to say this one last time because I do not understand the love for Breen (or Jax and JVG). It physically pains Breen to compliment KG - he would have to get 8-10 boards in the 1st qtr to warrant his praise. Breen is another lame slightly less annoying version of Dick Stockton. Saying "Bang!" doesn't do it for me.